British & Irish Lions win final warmup game

The British & Irish Lions maintained their 100 percent record in South Africa by eventually breaking down the aggressive resistance of the Southern Kings to triumph 20-8 before a lively crowd at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday afternoon.

Initially rattled by the home side’s brutal approach, The Lions struggled badly during a first half in which they lost Euan Murray and James Hook to injury and Ian McGeechan’s men were fortunate to go in level, at three points apiece, at the break, with Ronan O’Gara having cancelled out an early penalty from Jaco van der Westhuyzen.

However, The Lions made a far more assured start to the second half and O’Gara proved key, landing a second penalty before creating a try for Ugo Monye.

The Lions pack then forced a penalty try, thus rendering Mpho Mbiyozo’s late touchdown nothing more than a consolation try – albeit it a fully deserved one for both the player and his side.

Indeed, it had been said beforehand that the Southern Kings, in their inaugural competitive fixture would be keen to make a big impact. Well, they made several in the opening 20 minutes alone.

They took the lead with less than two minutes on the clock courtesy a confidently-struck penalty from Van der Westhuyzen but that score barely seemed relevant in the context of the game because right from the first whistle the home side had made it clear that their sole focus was on roughing up The Lions every chance they got.

First Gordon D’Arcy was leveled by a massive hit by Frikkie Welsh. Moments later, Joe Worsley was smashed to the floor. Later, Luke Fitzgerald was grounded by a combination of Matthew Turner and De Wet Barry.

Given the physicality of the game it was hardly surprising that The Lions lost two players to injury in the opening half. However, Murray’s withdrawal was down to an ankle injury which probably owed more to the sandy nature of the pitch than the intensity of the Kings’ tackling. Hook, meanwhile, was the recipient of an accidental forearm smash to the head from Wylie Human which left the Welshman wondering what day it was. Despite trying to play on, he was wisely replaced by O'Gara.

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Nster.com